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US citizens may soon find it even harder to escape domestic drug policy

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10/07/11

The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill yesterday that would make it a federal crime for U.S. residents to discuss or plan activities on foreign soil that, if carried out in the U.S., would violate the Controlled

Substances Act (CSA) -- even if the planned activities are legal in the countries where they're carried out.

H.R. 313, the "Drug Trafficking Safe Harbor Elimination Act of 2011," is sponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), and allows prosecutors to bring conspiracy charges against anyone who discusses, plans or advises someone else to engage in any activity that violates the CSA, the massive federal law that prohibits drugs like marijuana and strictly regulates prescription medication.

"Under this bill, if a young couple plans a wedding in Amsterdam, and as part of the wedding, they plan to buy the bridal party some marijuana, they would be subject to prosecution," said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for reforming the country's drug laws. "The strange thing is that the purchase of and smoking the marijuana while you're there wouldn't be illegal. But this law would make planning the wedding from the U.S. a federal crime."

The law could also potentially affect academics and medical professionals. For example, a U.S. doctor who works with overseas doctors or government officials on needle exchange programs could be subject to criminal prosecution. A U.S. resident who advises someone in another country on how to grow marijuana or how to run a medical marijuana dispensary would also be in violation of the new law, even if medical marijuana is legal in the country where the recipient of the advice resides. If interpreted broadly enough, a prosecutor could possibly even charge doctors, academics and policymakers from contributing their expertise to additional experiments like the drug decriminalization project Portugal, which has successfully reduced drug crime, addiction and overdose deaths.

The Controlled Substances Act also regulates the distribution of prescription drugs, so something as simple as emailing a friend vacationing in Tijuana some suggestions on where to buy prescription medication over the counter could subject a U.S. resident to criminal prosecution. "It could even be something like advising them where to buy cold medicine overseas that they'd have to show I.D. to get here in the U.S.," Piper says.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/06/us-drug-policy-war-congress_n_998993.html

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Damnit... Lamar Smith. He's the same guy who introduced SOPA & PCIP. :ana:

Edited by at0m

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What is this bullshit...thought crime.

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These people are quite insane, how come they are given the right to control how people behave? Doesn't this violate freedom of speech under the constitution? This is fascist mind-control at it's finest.

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what happened to - what goes on tour, stays on tour?

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Next step: compulsory drug tests at the border to make sure you haven't been naughty when overseas.

These people are criminally insane. It's worth making sure that none of what they propose comes to pass.

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Just reinforces my opinion of governments :BANGHEAD2:

It doesn't seem to matter if they are eastern or western, left or right they all seem to have an endless capacity for creating insane new laws that someone has to pay to administer & enforce :puke:

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i wonder if they'll really start cracking down hard.

all those MJ websites w/American members....all ov them potentially breaking federal law....the prison industrial complex would love that longtime.

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what happened to - what goes on tour, stays on tour?

 

how come they are given the right to control how people behave?

 

This law didnt appear in a vacuum.

Years back a law was passed saying that any US citizen in another country who fucks a 17 year old is a pedophile and subject to arrest when s/he returns to the US. Flags were waved and people whimpered 'think of the children' and anyone who questioned it was regarded as a pedophile so no one with power did. Of course the feds here dont genuinely give a rats ass about people fucking 17 year olds (across much of the US its legal to fuck 16 year olds, in some places its even legal to fuck 14 year olds, the feds dont care). The federal 'sex tourism' law was passed as a precedent for future exploitation. I said that at the time and was called paranoid by americans and looked at crossways as if I might be a pervert.

"Think of the children"

Well heres the come-around. Americans can no longer escape even the most ridiculous of US laws, not even in other countries.

Keep an eye out for when they set the precedent that foreigners breaking US law in foreign countries can be arrested upon entering the US.

Oh wait, thats already on the books too.

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what a load of crap, do the politicians just sit around with there thumbs up there ass's trying to think of the most ridiculous things to try and pass to outdo each other

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Auxin, if I was you I wouldn’t worry about this petty shit right now. In fact, if I were you right now, I’d have the US flag flying high in my front yard right about now, humming the star spangled banner, well I set up my six plant grow room and admired my seedlings of Haze genetics. :lol:

I mean it could be worse, you could live in Australia and not have the right to freedom of speech at all and be completely at the mercy of the federal government without any kind of say about the policies that are adopted by your local government.

Even with all the flaws, there is still plenty to be proud of when it comes to the structure of the US government. We don't even have the right not to vote over here!

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